Author's note: This isn't based on any particular episode, but it takes place somewhere after the events of NfH 2.
Credit goes to my friend SailorRaybloomDZ for the NfH fanart which I used as a cover.
Also, expect some fourth-wall breaking here and there.
It was a wonderful night outside - crickets are chirping, the moon is shinning and it is peaceful. However, even on nights like these, bad neighbours like Roger Rottweiler are bound to hellishly spoil them. It does not matter how. In this case, he was watching TV on maximum volume... Come on... is he really that deaf?
This is just one of the reasons why Woody Trickster plays pranks on him, and this time it was no exception. In fact, he was in the middle of messing up the wall with shoe polish. He will have to wash his hands after the episode is done.
'Even movie theatres don't set their volumes that high!' he was feeling disgruntled at his neighbour 'That'll teach him for ruining other people's sleep!'
However, just as he was finished with the practical joke, footsteps were heard.
'Oh, no... Rottweiler is coming this way!' the prankster felt panicked.
What is he supposed to do now? The wardrobe was broken, while there would be not enough time to head to another room... and the only nearest hiding spot left was the coat-rack. Basically, no other option left but for Woody to hide there.
'So uncomfortable... ' he thought, trying to stay balanced on it 'At least, it's better than having my butt kicked.'
Speak of the devil...
Because after Roger raged the smeared wall... the poor prankster lost his balance and fell down.
"Hmm? You?!" the neighbour angrily shouted.
The old oaf attacked him with slaps and punches. The very last one sent him flying to another room.
Woody was so careful too! It also did not help that there was only one more prank to pull off. Actually, it would not be a problem for him, since he could be in a worse state than the one he is right now.
One of his three lives in the form of a ghost was about to fly away, and make the counter go down from "3" to "2".
"I'll make sure that fatso won't be able to sleep tonight..." badly injured, he mumbled under his breath while standing up.
Exactly as he said these words, the jokester suddenly came up with a genius idea... but he needed a small help.
Woody called out quietly to his ghost-self. Luckily, the ghost heard him.
'I'm sorry, but you can't possibly make me stay after what just happened...' he said sadly after flying down. 'Also, you forgot that you don't have to speak. Just think and I'll still hear you... or err... me? I don't know...'
'Right, right...' the real deal replied 'But please... listen up! I just thought of something.'
'What?'
'Oh, I don't know. Perhaps... a ghostly prank?' Woody asked with a wide cheeky grin.
'Ghostly prank you say?' his ghost-self asked back with the same grin as him 'Please tell me more about it...'
They are basically the same person after all. The real deal explained the whole plan, while they had to hide from time to time... not on the coat-rack, of course! The masterpiece of mischief will be fully revealed later in the story.
'Well... you got me convinced to stay a little.' the ghostly prankster stated after he listened about how the scheme should be done "I'll definitely help you out with this trick!"
'Right after I'm finished with tonight's episode. It'll be better if the trick is done after midnight.'
'Of course, I'll wait here. Although, it's too bad that Joe and the crew won't be able to get a shot of it.'
'There's really no need for that anyway. I can do that just fine myself.' the jokester made it clear to the ghost.
'Oh, okay then... Got it!'
Later that night, it was finally silent with an exception of a few nature's noises outside.
Roger was sleeping peacefully in his room, but not for too long when the chest of drawers opened and closed itself. He barely opened his eyes and rose from his bed to check what is going on, then waited at least about a half minute if anything strange will happen again.
'Must be one of those weird dreams again.' the old oaf thought as he lay back down dozing off again.
"That's what you think!" a spectral bone-chilling voice echoed through the room.
"What?! Who said that?!" in a surprised manner, he suddenly rose from his bed again.
Roger could not recognize the voice at first, but he had a few suspicions. Those suspicions were correct... well, almost. Because it was one of Woody's lost lives, but the oaf thinks that it is the real deal.
"You?!" he was even more surprised to see to whom that eerie voice belongs to.
"Yeah, me! Who else do you think it was, hmm?" ghost Woody replied.
"Again with your stupid pranks!" the grump stood up on his own bed, yelling at him threateningly "If you think a cheap hologram will scare me, your oh so freaking wrong! Just wait till I find you and tear you apart!"
"It's you're!" the phantasmal prankster corrected him, breaking the fourth-wall "And can a hologram do this?" he put a big emphasis on the last word.
There was a painting hanging over the bed. He made that said painting move and hit the fatso's head. For once, the fatso was not angry and did not pay attention to the pain on his head because of how astonished he was.
"Now do you see what your beatings and bullying did to me?" the ghost faked a tear "They brought the end of me. You made everyone sad because of that... I really despise you! I'm sure the others do too..."
Roger did not pay attention to his fake lament. He was so happy that he got rid of his young annoying neighbour for good. He even felt like celebrating at this time of night.
"Whoa, slow down there!" ghost Woody stopped him "You know that things are now way worse, right?"
"What are you blabbering about?"
"Well, what I'm 'blabbering' about is now that I'm dead, I'll cause mischief and chaos around your house!" he explained to him with a wicked grin.
Those words made Roger freeze from fear, the thought for him is terrifying.
"And the best part? You. Can't. Hurt. Me!" the spectral jokester taunted him "However, I can do that indirectly... by haunting you for all eternity!" after that sentence, he let out a crazed evil laughter.
The old oaf jumped from his bed, shrieking. In a fit of panic, he ran all the way through his house and then outside. He was even still running down the street screaming, which woke up a lot of the other neighbours.
Meanwhile, the ghost called out the real Woody out of his hiding spot which happened to be under the bed. He also took his digital which was hidden well, stopped the recording and turned it off.
'I hope you didn't got squished under there.'
'It could have been worse, so don't worry.' he said to his phantasmal-self 'Thank you for scaring him out of his mind by the way!'
'It was my pleasure! We're pretty much the same person after all.' the ghost stated 'That's even written earlier.' and he broke the fourth-wall again...
'True. Also, what happened tonight only proves that sometimes a blessing is in disguise.'
Golden words of wisdom. If Woody did not get caught, he would not think of such a genius prank and frighten his neighbour with it.
'I agree... Anyway, did you recorded everything?'
'Yeah, I did. Although, this will be the only trick that won't be shown to the world. I'll be happy enough just to watch it myself.' the real prankster explained.
'Why not? You can just say that you bought a hologram device.'
'Then how am I going to explain how I bought said expensive device?'
'Well, I can't argue with that... Now I must take my leave!'
After that, they said goodbye to each other, and then the ghostly jokester flew away and disappeared. It was just Woody himself left.
'I have no other business here.' he thought while leaving quietly. There was still Roger's dog Mort guarding the house.
When he was finally outside, he let out a sigh of relief. Not exactly because he did not get caught again, it was more because he does not have to be in his neighbour's awful house. Well, at least until the next episode.
Woody was walking back home, but then he felt someone grabbing his wrist. That frightened him. Because for some reason, he thought Roger already came back and about to beat him up again. However, it turned out that it was only Shelly. His suspicions were wrong and that made him calm down.
"Woody... what are you doing out at this late?" "More importantly, why are you terribly injured? What happened?!"
"Let's just say... that I had to deal with a pest next-door. The same pest caught me, but I still won regardless." he replied "Although, I have to ask you the same thing."
"I was woken up by Rottweiler, but even if it's now quiet I couldn't sleep... So I thought 'What else could I do to fall back asleep but to gaze at the sky through the window?' and that's when I saw you walking outside... hurt..."
"I understand..." he responded.
"And you're not going anywhere like this. I'll treat your wounds."
Well, he can not protest. It may even be an excuse to spend a bit more time with her. Exactly how the aforementioned proverb goes "Sometimes a blessing is in disguise", so not everything is black and white.
Author's note: Well... the ending is kind of embarrassing... but I couldn't think of anything else. Also, I think this story has slightly more repetitive words than the other ones I've written or translated so far. It still turned out okay in my opinion though.